The immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, said former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s second term in office represented the most successful period Nigerians have ever experienced in terms of economic growth, job creation, and inflate rate.
Obasanjo was Nigeria’s president for two uninterrupted terms between 1999 – when the country returned to democratic rule – and 2007.
El-Rufai, who served in various capacities in the former President’s administration, including as a minister, said Nigeria’s economy reached an all-time peak between 2003 and 2007.
The former Governor made this known during a session at the Africa In the World conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on Friday, September 15, 2023.
El-Rufai, who spoke on the need for proper planning to aid the economic growth of any country, said Nigeria could achieve the said landmark because it returned to “proper integrated planning and we also got lucky.”
“We have a planning commission in Nigeria but it has not been as effective.
“If you look at Nigeria’s economic trajectory, the most successful four to five-year period of economic growth, job creation, and reduced inflation was the period of the second term of President Obasanjo in 2003 to 2007, when for the first time, the country went back into proper integrated planning and we also got lucky,” he said.
The former governor added, “Oil prices began to rise but we did not waste the windfall because we had planned. We had an excess crude account (ECA) that was based on fiscal rule that any surpluses above a certain benchmark price of crude oil goes to that savings account.
“And with that, we were able to get rid of all our foreign debt.”
El-Rufai further noted that Nigeria’s fiscal vigour was at its best in 2007, so much so that the country insulated itself from the global financial crisis that struck in 2008.
“Nigeria did not feel anything,” he continued.
“Nothing was felt in Nigeria because Nigeria had a big savings account; we had huge reserves and we were able to absorb the shock without any internal problems unlike most countries,” the former governor concluded.